


Equable - Stuck

by cutsycat



Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1438]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-08 03:50:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21469609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutsycat/pseuds/cutsycat
Summary: Tony is stuck relieving the day where Vance separates the MCRT like in the movie Groundhog's Day. How does he finally break free?
Relationships: Anthony DiNozzo/Jethro Gibbs
Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1438]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/444514
Comments: 26
Kudos: 35
Collections: Prompts for Cutsycat - NCIS (2018)





	Equable - Stuck

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mefeather](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mefeather/gifts).

> Another dictionary.com word of the day drabble. This time from 04/08/2003 for the word [equable](http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/2003/04/08/equable).
> 
> equable[ ek-wuh-buhl, ee-kwuh- ]  
adjective  
free from many changes or variations; uniform:  
an equable climate; an equable temperament.  
uniform in operation or effect, as laws.
> 
> This was requested by mefeather as part of my 2018 prompt challenge [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2018/profile). The 2018 Prompts are closed, however, you can still sign up for the 2019 Prompts [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2019/profile). More instructions are below if you wish to sign up. Note: This had multiple prompts. I removed the ones I wasn't fulfilling.
> 
> **Prompt:**
> 
> Use the title of one of these songs in a story - but if more than one title inspires you feel free to let the muse guide you. ;-) Since the title of the song is the most important part I'll give you the artist between braces.
> 
> Stuck in a moment you can't get out of {U2}  
**End Prompt**

The first time it happened, Tony didn’t protest being shipped out as Agent Afloat. He wasn’t looking forward to being forced to be the equable one, but he understood that someone had to do it. The only law enforcement officer in the middle of nowhere was not an easy job, ever. 

However, he accepted it as his punishment for what happened with Director Shepard. He didn’t expect to wake up the next day back in his apartment. He was positive he’d gone to bed on the USS Seahawk.

He frowned as he realized that he was stuck in a moment he couldn’t get out of. Going through the whole day where Vance raked them over the coals and split them up again was terrible. Why was he reliving the same day over again?

He’d seen Groundhog Day. In the movies, there was always something that was supposed to happen that broke you out of the nightmare, for the better, but he couldn’t see how he could change anything that would prevent Vance from splitting them up or change what happened. 

He tried not going to work, but it made no difference. He tried telling Vance no. He tried turning in his resignation. None of it made any difference. What more could he do to change the outcome?

He really didn’t want to be stuck anymore. There were so many better things he could do with his time than relieving the same damn day over and over again, especially when that day was one of the worst days of his life. Sometimes the movies featured someone needing to learn how to have fun or be happy, but he didn’t see how that could apply to this situation.

He was just stuck for no reason. Tony took off for a jog. It wasn’t like anything he did made a difference.

He kept hoping that something would happen on one of his random adventures and attempts to change what happened that day that would clue him in to what exactly he was supposed to be learning. Nothing. He decided to start paying random visits to his teammates, heck even Vance. Maybe it was something about a specific person or something. 

He started with Vance. He showed up at the ass crack of dawn, banging on Vance’s door, demanding that Vance not ship him off to sea. They argued for the whole day and he never made it to the ship, but he still woke up the next day in his apartment with the same time on the clock and the same day on the newspaper. 

Next, he visited Ducky. He talked with Ducky’s mother. He spent hours talking with Ducky. Woke up to the same boring walls. 

He visited Abby, even slept in her coffin. Still woke up back in his apartment repeating the same day. He was beyond frustrated now. This was the worst day of his life and he was being forced to repeat it with no end in sight.

He knew he did a horrible thing. He knew how terrible he was. Why did he have to keep being reminded of it?

Next, Tony tried McGee. He managed to talk the geek into skipping work to play video games all day, but no luck. Still woke up back in his bed.

At this point in time, he didn’t expect anything to change it. Still he was stuck, so there was nothing else to do, but visit Ziva today. They sparred. She tried to sex him up and he turned her down. It was boring and he wasn’t surprised to wake up in his bed again.

As a last ditch effort, Tony tried Jimmy. He followed Jimmy around the entire day and aside from catching him with Michelle Lee, absolutely nothing of interest happened. With a sigh, Tony resigned himself to waking up in his bed and repeating this horrible day over and over again for the rest of his life.

He knew he couldn’t put it off any longer, he had to face Gibbs now. It was the only thing left that he could think to do. He knew Gibbs was insanely disappointed in him and wasn’t looking forward to this at all.

Tony walked in the door and settled on the basement steps. Gibbs was asleep under the boat and Tony wasn’t about to wake him. It would happen soon enough as it was. He just sat there waiting for the recriminations to start. 

“Tony? What are you doing here? It’s not even 7, yet.”

Tony shrugged. “I’m giving you the chance to yell at me in private like you’ve wanted to since Director Shepard’s death.”

“You know it’s not your fault, right?”

Tony blinked. That wasn’t what he expected Gibbs to say, at all. “I should have been there. That’s what you would have done.”

“You should have, but you were exactly where Jenny wanted you to be.”

“So why aren’t you telling me off for not being there?”

“You’re not me, Tony. You shouldn’t try to be.”

“But I messed up.”

“No, you let a dying woman go out the way she wanted to.”

“So I didn’t do anything wrong?”

“Nope.”

“Huh.” Tony was flabbergasted that Gibbs didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. 

After that pep talk, the two of them headed into work. Vance still separated them, but what surprised Tony was that Gibbs demanded Tony stay. Tony only knew this because Gibbs showed up at the USS Seahawk and told Tony to come home. 

They went to Gibbs’ house and Gibbs explained about the mole hunt. Tony was going to have to help him figure out which of the three agents were the mole. Tony was actually excited about this and was happy to not be shipped off. 

He still didn’t think Vance liked him, but at least Gibbs had gone to bat for him. They stayed up late talking and Tony ended up falling asleep on Gibbs’ couch. He thought this time would be different that he would wake up at Gibbs’ house, but no he woke up back at his apartment again.

Tony didn’t know what to think, but Gibbs had surprised him, so he decided to visit Gibbs again. This time he brought breakfast since he knew that Gibbs didn’t want to chew him out. Instead of waiting for Gibbs down in the basement, he actually cooked the bacon and eggs that he brought in Gibbs’ kitchen. 

“That smells good,” Gibbs murmured, heading for the coffee that Tony had made first, knowing what his boss would want when he woke up. “What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion. Just woke up early and decided to do something nice for you.”

Gibbs consumed an entire cup of coffee and refilled it before looking back at Tony. “Is there something you need to tell me, DiNozzo?”

“Nah. I think we said enough, yesterday.”

Gibbs blinked in confusion. “I’m pretty sure we didn’t talk at all, yesterday.”

“Oh no, you wouldn’t remember it.” Tony waved it off. “It was a Groundhog’s Day thing.”

“What?”

“Oh don’t tell me you’ve never seen Groundhog’s Day? We must absolutely watch it today, then.”

Gibbs looked at him weirdly. “We have work.”

“Don’t worry. I cleared it with Vance, already.”

“Tony? Is this a date?”

“Do you want it to be?” Tony had been in love with Gibbs for years. That’s why he’d been so hurt by the thought that Gibbs was disappointed in him over Jenny.

Gibbs just grunted. After the movie, they went out for a picnic. Despite Gibbs normal functional mute status, it became quite obvious that Gibbs didn’t mind this being a date at all. 

As they wrapped up the full day date, Tony dared to kiss Gibbs before he went home for the night. The next day he woke up and glanced at his phone, relieved to see that it was the next day. Of course, since Gibbs and him skipped work the previous day that meant that when he walked into the office, Vance called them up and tried to send him off as Agent Afloat. 

Gibbs stared at him meaningfully and Tony nodded. He wouldn’t protest; this wasn't punishment. Gibbs wanted him to do this.

It wasn’t as bad as he feared it would be because every day, Gibbs sent him an email. It wasn’t always romantic, but he always knew just how much Gibbs cared about him even though he was stuck on this boat as Agent Afloat. He knew Gibbs would get him back eventually and he couldn’t wait to explore what they’d started even more when he did.

**Author's Note:**

> The dictionary.com series has no stories already written for it after this one, so I will be posting at least no more stories before I stop posting again. I'm hoping to get more stories written before then, so that I don't stop posting for a while. Wish me luck! 
> 
> It's 2019 now and I have closed my 2018 Prompt collection, but fear not my 2019 Prompt Collection is now open [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2019/profile). Just click the sign up link. ;) It will remain open until the beginning of 2020. I'm hoping to complete all the 2019 prompts by the end of 2020. Do not fear I have not forgotten about the 2018 prompts and will continue working through them. It's just easier for me to not get overwhelmed if I keep the prompts separated by the year they were given to me.
> 
> If you are not an ao3 member, you can prompt me [here](http://cutsycat.livejournal.com/50701.html). Please follow the same rules as are listed in the above link. However, because this is a handmade prompt form(that thinks it's a poll), it is considerably more limited than what ao3 provides, so please use the ao3 form if you're an ao3 member. Please note the name option is for a name that I can say this is for so that you know it's for you. Since this is for non ao3 members it won't be true gifts, but you will be mentioned in the notes. Please note if you have already voted in the poll and would like to request more stories you can just add a comment to the poll. Please include the name along with the prompt, so that I can appropriately gift the prompt to you.
> 
> For any authors that want to chat and/or are looking for a place where they can toss plot ideas around and get input from people, you can come join my discord server that is specifically geared towards writing/encouraging people to write and authors. The invite link is [here](https://discord.gg/HFvwpCq). If you're not an author, but want to chat with me about writing/stories or anything else you are welcome to join. I reserve the right to boot you from my server if all you do is pester me about updates, however. *grin* Really anyone who wants to talk about writing and/or plot ideas for various stories is welcome to join. 
> 
> Also, Drakonyashka has translated a couple of my works into Russian. [Tutelage](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378780) and [Imbue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378840). Go support them. 


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